Resume Tips and the Job Objective

The following is an excerpt reprinted with permission from What Color Is Your Parachute? Guide to Job-Hunting Online, Sixth Edition: Blogging, Career Sites, Gateways, Getting Interviews, Job Boards, Job Search ... Resumes, Research Sites, Social Networking. Copyright © 2011 by Mark Emery Bolles and Richard Nelson Bolles, Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.    

What you put in your resume is defined by the way you intend to use it. That is to say, resume tactics define resume content. For example, if you are responding to an online job listing, then it’s proper to respond with a custom resume that essentially echoes the content of the listing, often called a “targeted resume” or in extreme cases, a “boomerang resume” (so called because what the company throws into the world as a job listing comes flying back at them, essentially unchanged, in the form of resume responses). If you are going to post a resume on any of the job boards, then the content should be a bit more general, because your skills and experience may be suitable for a number of different jobs. You will also need to decide what format your resume will follow: the traditional, historical format, or one of the other formats becoming common, such as the functional resume, the hybrid resume, the competency based resume . . . and on it goes.

Regardless of format chosen, some rules apply to all resumes:

• It should be as short, yet uncluttered, as possible. White space improves readability.


• One page is best, two pages is okay, but never more. That’s C.V. territory. (See The Curriculum Vitae, page 62.)


• Never include personal data, other than contact information. No hobbies (unless skill relevant), nothing about politics, religion, marital status, number of kids, or name of dog.


• Avoid phrases that don’t really communicate anything, like “passion for sales,” or “loves new challenges.” Likewise, avoid any general, summary-type statements that are not quantifiable, like “proven executive with unique abilities,” or “long history of superior expertise.” Rather, quantify your achievements (see below), and if you do that well, the person reading your resume may think to himself, “Wow, this guy sounds like a proven executive with unique abilities.” Huge difference.


• Most people need not bother putting the word “resume” on their resume. If you are creating a personal website and want your resume to be indexed by the search engines, then either place the word in the keywords (see page 66), or make the heading “Resume of John Smith.” This assumes your name is John Smith.


• Never mention salaries you have received, or salary presently required.


• Don’t ever try to explain why you left a job. (See Why You Left, page 64.)


• Do not include your social security number, your home address, or any other data that increases your risk of identity fraud. After you are hired, then of course you would supply such data, but it has no place in a resume, especially if you plan to post your resume online.


• Unless you were home-schooled at the White House, don’t bother listing any education before high school.


• Don’t ever speak ill of former employers or fellow workers. It was a privilege to work for such terrific companies, and every one of your fellow workers was a rare and wonderful human being.

It’s interesting how there are fads and trends even in job-hunting. One trend I’ve noticed in the last few years is the practice of including a “job objective” in the resume. The argument for doing this is that failing to include a job objective will be seen by the employer as a lack of focus concerning what you want in your life and career. (I do not personally find this argument convincing.)

The argument against the objective’s inclusion is less subtle: stating a job objective is saying what you want. But what you want is usually immaterial to an employer. The employer only cares about what he wants, and if your job objective is even a bit different from his hiring objective, your resume will be weeded out.

The place to state what you want is in a cover letter, not on your resume. The cover letter is where you can summarize your qualifications and state what sort of position you are looking for. Your resume then backs up your cover letter, showing your qualifications, and proving that you have done and can do the work you seek.

Comments

[Sarah]

I had a debate with a coworker regarding listing the High School. His take was that because he went to a private exclusive high school it can only benefit him (re: possible alumni, etc.) to have it listed - my take is if i am looking at resumes I don't want to see someone's high school if they have a college degree, because it is irrelevant.

I have long dropped the objective from my resume - and I'm at 2 pages (which kills me) but I couldn't figure out how to consolidate it more.

[Squirrelers]

To the point of the commenter above, Sarah, I agree that listing one's high school is generally irrelevant. I see this often on Linkedin, where people with advanced degrees show their high school. Stick with undergrad as the lowest level of education shown, even if it's the only level shown - which might be the case for many/most folks in general.

[Moneycone]

I'd also add, cleanup your FB profile if you are job hunting. An increasing number of companies are looking at your social profile before hiring.

[Bankruptcy Ben]

When we recruit at work we look at employment history more than anything else. Need 2 years minimum in one job. It's surprising how many people only work 3-6 months in a job and than leave

[MattJ]

Moneycone (and others)

I don't have a FB profile, and never have. I've also never had a Myspace account, or any other kind of social networking web account. For me, there is nothing to clean up. I'm not a technophobe, it's just that I like my privacy. My last name (one of the common 'J' names) renders me practically ungoogle-able. There are 4 people with my first/last name combination working for my company, and 6 working for the government agency I contract for. In short, when a company goes looking for my social profile, they are almost certainly going to come up empty-handed.

My question is, will that be a negative for me if I'm looking for a job? Will they assume I've got something to hide, and therefore that I've completely scrubbed my online presence, or will they accept that some people just don't have much of an online presence? Does it actively hurt my job prospects to lack this information for companies to dig into?

[Money Beagle]

I used to have this but recently took it out (though I haven't been actively looking, I do keep my resume up to date). You also hear that you're supposed to keep resumes short, and I'd rather list accomplishments, certifications, experience information, etc all of which I think will do more for landing a potential job.

[Walden]

MattJ - if you're concerned about you lack of online presence, get a LinkedIn page. It's a good way to network with other professionals. I'm a recruiter and I often search for my potential candidates there. I have never viewed someone negatively for not having a social networking presence (I'm not on Facebook or MySpace either!)

Regarding the above tips, while I agree you have to be careful with what personal information you share, I would recommend including the city where you live, or perhaps the nearest large city. Many of my clients have immediate needs, so I'm not always open to candidates that would need to relocate. And when I'm short on time, I'm not going to call you just to find out where you live unless you're exactly what I'm looking for.
In regards to length, I don't mind a long resume - as long as all that information is RELEVANT. (and the resume should be well formatted and easy to read ON A COMPUTER SCREEN) You should tweak your resume a bit for every job you apply to - that way you can include the information that truly matters. If you have 10 certifications that will directly apply to my open position, please tell me! But I don't care where you went to high school - ever! :-)

[FJF]

@Sarah- I came from private school but High school in the resume is not also important to me as long as you have a college degree. It really doesn't matter if you came from private or public as long as your college TOR is enough to prove your worthiness for the job.

[Mike Hunt]

Interesting about not including the home address- I'll have to consider that.

-Mike